Aermacchi

Two weeks ago, we revealed George Woodman’s cute little Honda SS50. But George had a further ace up his sleeve: he was working on another, equally quirky project. Et voilà, here it is: a stunning 1972 Aermacchi 350 TV SS, adorned with George’s signature wooden touches. (And if the Italian marque sounds familiar to our…

Aermacchi was a fabricator of aircraft for Italy’s war machine during the Second World War. After the defeat of the Axis powers, the company turned its efforts to the production of motorcycles and bikes. In collaboration with Harley-Davidson, many Aermacchi motorcycles found their way to America in the 1960s to meet the growing demand for…

Harley-Davidson has a strange affectation for Italian motorcycle companies. It bought MV Agusta in 2008, and offloaded it just over a year later to the late Claudio Castiglioni. But way before that, in 1960, Harley bought a half share in Aermacchi, and started selling a rebadged version of the Italian company’s 250 cc single. It…

It’s almost impossible to quantify the proportions of a motorcycle. Sure, there are relationships between wheel sizes, fuel tank and seat unit, and of course the engine and frame. But some machines have that indefinable ‘something’, a quirk of aesthetics that catches your eye. For me, this is one of them. It’s a bike that…